About this project

$33,456

pledged of $25,000 goal

369

backers

We're in the Final Hours! Thank you to everyone for pushing us to the $25,000 funding goal and helping to make the on-farm butcher shop happen!

New Rewards:

Save big with whole pig order shipped directly to your home in four parts as you are ready for each from our on-farm butcher shop. This saves you freezer space while also giving you the best price of just $7.11/lb shipped to your home. Split with a friend! See the $995 whole pig reward. Includes sausage, hot dogs and smoked products like bacon & hams. Also available as quarter pig and half pigs in one and two shipments respectively. See rewards.

$280 & $335 Oven Roaster Pigs including shipping

Butchering & Farm Videos and Book in the $41 to $49 range and combo packs at $79 and $99 levels which can also be added to any other package.

Small tusks, commemorativepatch and T-shirt added at $27, $30 and $44 but also available as add on's to all shipping packages over $25 for $5, $10 and $20 respectively. See Update #44

Our family is building a USDA inspected on-farm butcher shop where we'll cut meat here and make sausage from our delicious, naturally raised, pastured pork. With our own butcher shop we will have breeding through creative charcuterie right here on our farm. Our passion and vision is to have the complete circle of life here on Sugar Mountain.

Funds will help us finish the butcher shop construction this summer by purchasing materials and equipment such as a meat saw, grinder and vacuum packager so that we can reward you with our delicious pastured pork!

"What's Next?" We push on to fund the next phase: on-farm slaughter and then the smokehouse. As I write this the ice has receded from Sugar Mountain and we're working on setting the forms for the next concrete pour soon.

Walter, Holly, Ben, Will, Hope Jeffries, Working Dog Kavi & Pigs

We love farming, raising our livestock all naturally and humanely to produce quality meats, sausage and other charcuterie for our own family and customers.

It takes a village to eat a pig, nose-to-tail. Every bit of the pig is good to eat. Each week we work to sell every delicious bite of the pig to our many store, restaurant and individual customers. Having our own on-farm butcher shop will make this happen.

Join us in this grand adventure by backing our project and getting great rewards from goodies like T-shirts to ivory tusks and of course, sausage, bacon and delicious pastured pork shipped to you as listed in the rewards at right.

“With the on-site abattoir that Walter is pursuing I see great opportunities. With every transaction I made with him he has been prompt, professional, and delivered a product of superior quality.”

-Peter Ireland,

Former Chef & Owner,

Carpenter & Main Restaurant,

Norwich, Vermont

Full Details:

Since 2003 our family has been breeding and raising pastured pigs on our land, rotationally grazing them on mountain pastures with our sheep, chickens, ducks and geese. We have a diverse farm but it is the pigs who bring home the bacon and pay the mortgage. Our whole family is involved in our farm from breeding to caring for the animals to fencing and construction. My wife Holly delivers our pastured pork and succulent sausages fresh year round to stores, restaurants and individual customers on our regular weekly delivery route throughout Vermont. Last year we began shipping nationwide after almost a decade of local deliveries.

Bringing the butchering on-farm will save time, gas and stress as well as giving us more control. This means more humane handling for the animals, top quality meat for customers, a lower carbon footprint and increased sustainability for our farm.

Healthy meat and humane treatment of our animals is critical to us. We raise our pigs on mountain fields eating pasture and hay plus dairy for the vast majority of their diet. Their grazing improves the soil. In turn the land feeds them. They eat grasses, clover, alfalfa, apples, pears, nuts, pumpkins, beets, turnips, kale and sunflowers we grow on our farm plus a variety of other fruits and veggies. They also get whey, excess cheese and trim from a local artisanal cheese maker, boiled barley from a local brew pub and occasional treats of bread from a nearby bakery which are great for leading and loading. We do not feed commercial hog food, antibiotics or hormones nor do we use herbicides, pesticides or the like. The result is delicious wholesome, healthy meat from our farm to your family table.

Culinary experts, chefs, butchers and individuals have vouched their support for our project as can be seen in these letters of recommendation.

“I was so pleased to learn that Sugar Mountain Farm will be developing an on-farm slaughter facility. Sugar Mountain has been an integral part of our annual Pig Roast here at Magic Mountain, and I can only imagine how on-farm slaughter will improve your already excellent product.”

-Bob Williams,

Inn on Magic Mountain,

Londonderry, Vermont

As has been widely discussed, the availability of meat processing options for small farmers are severely limited and continue to diminish. This hurts consumers by reducing choice, threatens the sustainability of local agriculture and is a food security risk for our nation through the consolidation into ever larger factory farms and giant processing facilities. Since the late 1990s a large number of butcher shops and other small meat processors shut their doors. This point was further driven home to us when two regional facilities burned down and three others closed in recent years.

When our butcher announced his retirement in 2008 we realized we must have our own processing facility. We met with the head of Vermont's Meat Quality Inspection Division to discuss our options, go over licensing requirements and plan our course of action. We also met with the USDA's regional director and several local inspectors. We were warned that it was a huge task to take on, that the costs were high. While there was no financial help from the government for constructing small on-farm butcher shops they have been eager to offer technical assistance and feedback on our project - they want us to succeed, they want more slaughter and process options available.

Simultaneously while I educated myself about what it would take to permit, design, build and operate our own facility, my wife, our eldest son and I began a wonderful eighteen month apprenticeship in commercial meat cutting with master butcher Cole Ward. As we did this I completed the USDA's HACCP/PR food safety course on safe meat handling and began working with the state agencies on permitting. By June 2009 I had obtained all our necessary permits, the facility design was ready and we began construction.

Our customers offer a great deal of encouragement and support for our on-farm slaughtering and butchering endeavor, citing the added quality and improved humaneness for the animals. Customers look forward to the faster response times that will be possible with processing being in our control and are excited by the added possibilities for specialty cuts, sausages and other charcuterie. Many customers helped financially by backing our project with loans and CSA Pre-Buys of pork that allowed us to buy concrete, insulation, steel and other materials.

By adding our own personal savings to CSA pre-buys and generous loans from friends and customers we completed 90% of the external construction necessary for the butcher shop by the end of 2011. When the snow and ice of the winter of 2011 arrived we had mostly completed our building. We shutdown construction to wait out old man winter and waited for spring when the ice and snow would melt off the mountain.

First we are setting up just for cutting the meat as this is our highest cost. Next we'll add on-farm slaughter to eliminate the long trip. Later, once our smokehouse, brine room and kitchen are up and running we'll be able to do smoked sausages, aged sausages and our premium all natural smoked hot dogs, smoked kielbasa, bacon, ham, prosciutto and other great traditional charcuterie.

Initially we'll just do processing of animals from our own farm due to the complex regulatory and insurance issues around handling animals from other farms. After we get everything working smoothly we will be able to look at processing for other people who buy summer pigs from us and then later additional animals from other farms.

Benefitting Other Farmers & Community:

Opening our own on-farm facility immediately benefits other local farmers because it frees up 500 to 1,000 processing slots a year at regional butcher shops, easing the strain on the meat processing infrastructure.

We are also sharing with other farmers what we have learned during this process of building our butcher shop so that more people can create efficient, nano-scale, on-farm meat processing facilities to serve their local areas across the country and around the world. Our project has already inspired othe farmers to do similar projects and it has been selected for the Open Ecologies Project Wiki because we are openly sharing how we are innovating and building on an accessible, affordable scale.

On my blog you'll find floor plans, construction details, technological and innovative features for energy efficiency, including the use of winter cold, earth berms, super-insulated high thermal mass, earth-sheltered vaults, using the natural heat of the carcasses and a solar chimney to drive circulation. Just as important are innovative wastewater handling and composting of organic materials to keep the nutrients on the farm.

“I write to thank you for the tremendous inspiration and help that you continue to provide to me and many others in the sustainable family farming kinship. Your Sugar Mountain Farm Blog with its explicit descriptions, pictures and graphics of how and why you manage the farm using deliberate sustainable strategies and techniques has been a treasure of information for me as I prepare to expand my operation from seasonal pastured hogs to year round pastured hogs.”

-Todd Turner,

Humble Haven Farm,

Fort Loudon, PA

“Walter and his family are one of a kind. In today's America where families often grow apart, leaving the family farm, his demonstrates what can be accomplished by sharing a common goal and working towards it non-stop. Our own farm has benefitted tremendously from what we have learned about pastured pork from the Jeffries family.”

“Walter's blog has been one of the most helpful and inspiring resources for us while we increase our pig numbers and build infrastructure. We have been consulting Walter for his experience in building catenary arches over his head in his house, and his shop, with the hopes that we can build our own thin-shell ceiling in our drying room.”

Join us in this excellent adventure and enjoy the fruits of our labor shipped to your home!

Backer Rewards:

In exchange for your support we're offering wonderful rewards including great Goodies and best of all, meat from our farm. We normally sell only locally in the New England area. For years we have had requests to ship our meat. As a Kickstarter special offer we are shipping our delectable all natural pastured pork and charcuterie to carnivores across the nation. Shipping in the United States is included in all packages - add $20 for shipping internationally on goodies. Meat can only be shipped within the USA.

Check out all the great rewards and please tell your friends via twitter, facebook, farmville, discussion lists, your blog and word of mouth to come Kickstart the butcher shop at Sugar Mountain Farm! The first 100 backers to sign up at or over the $100 level get an extra bonus surprise reward on project funding! Notice that the mid-level and upper tiers offer real value shipped directly to your home.

FarmImage Goodies: Your choice of either a Set of Ten Fun Farm Stickers, Set of Five Sugar Mountain Farm Picture Postcards, a Pig Pen or an Art Print of life on Sugar Mountain to hang on your wall.

Goodie Combo Pack: Your choice of a Goodie item from each of the FarmImages, FarmStuff and CoolPigStuff levels. Want a T-shirt, Art print and Knuckle dice? They're yours! Mix and match.

Mega-CoolPigStuff: Tusks! These are genuine ivory from our pastured pigs. Good luck, fortune, fertility and strength are some of the special attributes of tusks in many cultures. Every tusk is unique and the supply is extremely limited. You won't find these anywhere else. The small tusks are representative samples. The Big Tusks shown are the actual ten tusks currently available, by December we'll have even more. The largest is 10.5" around the outer arc of the tooth tip to tip, 4.875" across the circle and 1" across at the base. Because the tusks are so unique we need some way to determine who gets first pick and I believe that this will work: select the Tusk for your reward, either the tusk or the Tusk plus Pick of the Pig Sampler. Then place the highest amount you feel comfortable pledging. The person pledging the most beyond the tier's basic price at the end gets first pick of the tusks, the person pledging the second most gets second pick and so on. In the event of multiple people pledging the same amount then earlier pick goes to earlier bidder in order. For more details zoom into the higher resolution version of the photo (4.5MB).†

Finally, the Real Meat of the Rewards!

Each of these great packages of meat are also available with bacon and other smoked products at a small additional cost. See rewards list at right and look for the word Bacon in each case. Shipping within the USA is included in all rewards!

Farmer's Basket Mini Sampler: Three pounds of our delicious all natural pork for you to enjoy in your kitchen. You also get a FarmImage item of your choice, or if you prefer, an extra package of sausages. An inexpensive way to get a taste of Sugar Mountain pastured pork and charcuterie while supporting our Big Project! If you're local and can meet us on our delivery route or pickup at the farm we'll throw in an extra package of sausage as our way of saying thanks for not shipping! This great offer holds for all the meat packages.

Sausage Sampler: Your choice of five pounds of our delicious all natural pork hot dogs and sausages. Includes Goodie Combo Pack so you won't miss out on all the fun toys!

Pick of the Pig: Your choice of five pounds of cuts from our pastured pork. Choose from tenderloin, sirloin cutlets, country ribs, pork loin chops, hot dogs, sausage, ground, and hocks. All delicious - you pick what you want! Also includes Goodie Combo Pack, of course!

Supreme: The sampler package isn't big enough? Well, step right up to the Supreme! Four times as much meat at 20 lbs plus a volume discount means that you don't want to miss out on these hot opportunities. Includes multiple Goodie Combo Packs!

Subscriptions: Once is never enough! We can ship regular packages of our wholesome products to you across a year and even for a full decade. Includes multiple Goodie Combo Packs, of course. All meat subscribers are welcome to pickup at the farm or can get free delivery along our weekly route. If you do come to the farm you can see the pigs out in our fields.

Patrons: For the serious, deeply dedicated pork connoisseur, a decade of Pick of the Pig and other high levels. As we come out with new products, you'll get the opportunity to try them out in sneak previews. You get to name a breeding boar and will receive an autographed limited edition art print of said gentleman of the fields. You also get to have a room in the facility named after you complete with engraved Vermont granite plaque. And of course, you get the personal tour and will be outfitted with lots of Goodies and a tusk too!†

"What Cuts of Pork Are Available?" This question has been asked by quite a few people. The simple answer is just about everything your heart desires. Check out the new article "What Good is a Pig: Cuts of Pork, Nose-to-Tail" on my blog that details all the cuts on the pig with charts and diagrams to illustrate it all. When the time comes to ship orders we'll send out order forms for each of the meat packages so that you can let us know what cuts you would like to receive in your rewards.

To maintain quality, shipments of meat are not made during months with a 'u' as the second letter. i.e., June, July and August. Meat rewards will begin in Vermont after we achieve our state inspection license. Shipments of meat outside of Vermont will begin after we achieve our USDA inspection license.

Also note that actual rewards may differ a little from those pictured, especially for natural items like the knuckle bone dice, tusks, stone cubes, etc. Rest assured they will be fantastic!

Reward values are based on the retail value of the meat plus expedited shipping, insulated shipping box and Goodies. Honors such as web site thank you page, naming a pig, bonus sampling of new products are not included in the valuation - they're a bonus from us to you in gratitude for your support.

†No pigs were harmed in the harvesting of these tusks and teeth. Cutting teeth, tusks and tails while the animal is alive as is done in some places is painful and can cause infection. We do not cut teeth or tusks on live animals nor do we dock tails.

“As the Meat Fabrication Instructor at New England Culinary Institute, I had several opportunities to use Sugar Mountain Farm pork. I was always impressed with the quality of product and the professional manner in which it was handled. My dealings with Walter and his wife were also very professional, while passion for their endeavor was always evident. The expansion of their operation to include an inspected slaughter and processing facility is a welcome move for small agriculture in Vermont.”

-Chef Bryan Severns,

New England Culinary Institute,

Montpelier, Vermont

How Does Kickstarter Work?

Until the funding drive ends you can make pledges to help support our project. Pledges can range from $1 to $10,000. Keep it to something you can afford without your spouse, significant other, parent or financial advisor grounding you. For your pledge, you may select one of the wonderful reward packages (listed at right) of equal or lesser value to your pledge. You can pledge more than the minimum to get a reward. For international shipments of Goodies you'll need to add extra to cover the added shipping costs. (Sorry, but we can't ship meat internationally.)

You can change your mind right up to the final deadline. Your account will not actually be charged until the project successfully funds. When the final deadline comes, if we have reached our goal, everyone gets charged the amount they pledged. Two weeks later Amazon transfers the money to our bank account and we get to work sending out thank you postcards, making Goodies and whatnot in addition to farming and doing construction.

If we don't meet our goal then no one gets charged, no fees are applied, everyone just keeps their money. Of course, if we fail to meet the goal, then no one gets any rewards either and some of those rewards are mega-cool!

Anything you can do to spread the word is greatly appreciated from pressing the Like button at the top to tweeting to telling your friends to come Kickstart the butcher shop at Sugar Mountain Farm! Here's short link: smf.me/kswhich is easy to pass out.

FAQ

We have all of our construction permits, utilities are installed, the outer shell of our on-farm butcher shop is almost finished and the chiller, final cutting room and kitchen have been poured with their vaulted masonry ceilings. We will soon pour the concrete for the inspector's office, bathroom, mechanical room and initial meat cutting room. Then all that remains is to finish off the interior wiring, plumbing, walls, ceilings, floors and install the equipment so we can start cutting meat under inspection in our own on-farm butcher shop.

Postcards will start flowing right after Kickstarter project success. Goodie fulfillment begins in June. After that we'll do the Cool-Pig Stuff and Mega-Cool Pig Stuff. Local in-state fulfillment of meat begins when we have our Vermont State meat cutting license. Out-of-state shipments begins when we get our USDA meat cutting license. Once we can start fulfilling rewards, we'll begin with the earliest backers. Local pickup and delivery can be earlier than out of state shipments since it only requires Vermont State inspection, the first licensing level we will attain, and a step to towards USDA approval. If you would like to pickup along our delivery route or at the farm you can get your delicious pastured pork and succulant sausages after we have our state inspection.

We expect to be butchering under state inspection in the summer of 2012. We are working closely with both the state and the USDA to have all of our paperwork ready so we can open as soon as possible after construction is completed. The Agency of Agriculture been visiting our site to give feedback as we build. After we have our state inspection license we will apply for our USDA license. This will allow us to legally ship meat throughout the United States.

Yes! Once the butcher shop is completed and we are cutting meat here at Sugar Mountain Farm then the next step will be to finish off the Lairage, Abattoir and Chiller so that we can then offer on-farm slaughter. Once accomplished our livestock will be able to stay on our farm in familiar surroundings for the full cycle of their lives from breeding to butchering.

We currently have about 40 breeding sows in two herds plus their accompanying breeder boars. Typically there are about 300 pigs on farm at any time ranging from tiny newborn piglets up to 250 lb market hogs, in addition to the 400 to 1,500 pound breeder animals. The numbers ebb and flow somewhat with the season as litters tend to be born in clusters. Over the course of 2012 we are planning to gradually increase our breeding herd by another ten sows. This spring we added a new Berkshire boar to our north herd.

We will. Pigs bring home the bacon and pay the mortgage. They are part of a diverse web of life on our farm. We also raise chickens, ducks and geese who provide organic insect patrol, co-grazing with the swine and sheep. We plan to begin raising beef after we have the butcher shop running smoothly in two to three years. For this reason we have built the chiller ceiling tall enough to handle full sized cattle and have allowed space for a dry aging room to maximize quality through an extended hang time.

Not yet, but our 19 year old son Will would very much like to learn to smoke. We wholeheartedly support him in this pursuit and have reserved a smoking room in the building just for this purpose. In addition to smoking hams, bacon, hocks, trotters, bones and such we also plan to be able to smoke whole roaster pigs for events. ETA of 2013 for initial smoking with a goal of 2014 for full production.

You bet! We're looking forward to doing all sorts of creative charcuterie. To that end we have allotted space in our butcher shop for a kitchen, brine room and two curing rooms in addition to the smokehouse. Some day we'll even do prosciutto, salami and all those other wonderful traditional meats that make your mouth water.

Certainly. For the best results we do not ship in the months containing a 'u' as the second letter of their name to avoid the heat of the year - i.e., June, July or August. We ship early in the week to avoid the weekends and follow the USDA recommended procedures for shipping. The meat is deep frozen and packed in an insulated box with any necessary additional coolants to keep it safe during transit.

No, I'm sorry but to ship it we must freeze it. Fresh not frozen is available for local pickup and delivery. Realize that most high class white table cloth restaurants freeze their meat so that it maintains its quality. We also freeze meat for our own consumption. When we freeze your meat we'll use a special deep freezer for the best quality.

That's an odd number...Why yes! We're glad you noticed. Not only is it odd but it is also prime! The reason for that weight is what fits neatly in a large insulated US Postal Service Flat Rate Priority Mail shipping box. This minimizes your shipping cost. If you would like more, order a Supreme.

Definitely. We don't want your meat arriving when you're not there to enjoy it. Before we ship we'll check with you as to schedule. If an order needs to hold that is not a problem. Note that we don't ship during the summer months in order to preserve freshness.

Yes on the Goodies but sadly no on the meat due to regulations, tariffs and shipping delays. We wouldn't want your meat to arrive spoiled. For international shipping of Goodies add $20 per package to cover the additional shipping when you make your pledge. It is very important to add the extra shipping now before the funding drive ends so as not to delay your Goodies!

Sure thing! When picking up at the farm you can get it fresh or frozen. Just be sure to communicate ahead of time via email or phone to arrange a time and date for pickup. We don't want to miss you if we're working out in the fields or woods. While you're here you can see the pigs out in the fields. Beware of mud season and winter ice storms as we live on a dirt road clinging to the side of a mountain. Summer and fall foliage seasons are wonderful times to see the farm and forests.

Yep! It's free for Kickstarter meat packages along our regular weekly delivery route. On delivery you can get your meat fresh or frozen. When the time comes we'll arrange the details with you. See: http://SugarMtnFarm.com/outlets/

Sure thing! That is very generous of you and hungry Vermonters will appreciate your gift. You may assign your reward to whomever you would like, an individual, a charity, a local food shelf, etc. If you donate it to a local cause on our delivery route we will add an extra 15% of meat and deliver it right to them. If you would like to not receive the Goodies we'll add another 10% of meat to your donation. If you need a list of suggestions for local causes we can help. We will provide you with a receipt of delivery. Note that we are not a tax deductible charity so the deductibility of any such donations is to be worked out between you, the charity and your accountant.

In order to keep our farm sustainable we must put a limit on the maximum number of some meat packages because we can only do a maximum number of pigs a week. In addition to providing pork for the Kickstarter backers we also have weekly standing orders for local stores and restaurants as well as sales of roasters and CSA orders to individuals.

Yes indeed! We'll provide you with an order sheet that you can choose from. I'll wager that you'll want more variety than always ordering tenderloin. There are some cuts on the pig that are of limited availability, such as tenderloins which only come two to a pig. Thus if you order a lot of tenderloins it will take longer to fulfill your order but fulfill it we will. If many people order the same thing then the early backers will get priority in fulfillment in each round as we work through the list.

Definitely. One of the joys of doing our own butchering is we can do it your way! Just choose the Pick of the Pig to pick what you want. Then when you get your order forms, check off "bone-in" where you prefer.

Probably not, except in the case of the big tusks. We're dealing with real world natural products, not manufactured assembly line clones. Tusks, teeth, knuckle bones, stones, etc are unique natural products so actual final Goodies you receive will differ from what is shown. (Unless you happen to get the exact one pictured which is quite possible in some of the extremely limited editions like large tusks.) What you see in the photos are representative samples. In the cases of the big boar tusks, first pick goes to the early backers at their reward level. Later backers will still get very cool tusks. These are Very Limited Editions! Each one is unique. Pledge early, pledge often, pledge hard! The artwork for items as t-shirts, pork cut chart, etc are continually subject to improvement and updating but what is shown will be substantially similar to the final rewards.

Set up more than one Kickstarter account in the case of unique things like the MegaCoolPig Stuff or ask us to create a special rewards tier for you to back as other people might be interested too. This is a problem with how Kickstarter rewards tier selection is designed. If you would like to see this improved, contact Kickstarter. They are always looking for feedback on how to make the system better.

Certainly. Right up to the end. And sometimes new rewards have become available which you might like such as when one person suggested a Big Tusk + Meat package. If you have an idea for a great reward, let me know and I might be able to add it.

Reward values are based on the retail value of the meat plus expedited shipping, insulated shipping box and Goodies. Honors such as web site thank you page, naming a pig, bonus sampling of new products are not included in the valuation - they're a bonus from us to you in gratitude for your support.

We started raising rabbits and poultry back in 1992, adding sheep a few years later. At that point we were homesteading rather than farming - that is to say our income from the land did not pay our bills, yet. This changed in the early '00s. In 2003 we began raising pigs, selling weaner piglets and our pork to individuals. The farm had begun to pay the bills and we were farmers. Very soon we were making regular deliveries year round to stores and restaurants along our weekly delivery route in Vermont. We also do sustainable timber harvesting in the forests of our farm and have a maple sugar bush on the eastern slope of Sugar Mountain.

No, we do not use gestation or farrowing crates. Our sows farrow out in the pastures during the warm months or in a farrowing hut if they prefer. During the cold months they use the farrowing huts or the nursery stalls in our south field shed which they are able to enter and exit by their own choice. We also do not dock tails or cut teeth.

No! We do not feed hormones or antibiotics to our animals, nor do we use herbicides or pesticides. We farm using natural pasturing and managed rotational grazing techniques to produce top quality healthy tasty meat for our family and customers. We do not buy commercial hog feeds. Our pigs get the majority of their diet from pasture/hay plus dairy. See our http://SugarMtnFarm.com/pigs page for many more details about how we humanely and naturally raise our livestock.

We sell primarily to local stores and restaurants throughout Vermont. Stores include Onion River Coop / City Market in Burlington, Hunger Mountain Coop in Montpelier, Killdeere Farm Stand in Norwich, South End Market in Bradford, Buffalo Mountain Coop in Hardwick and others. Restaurants that carry our pork on their menu include Carpenter & Main in Norwich, Michael's on the Hill, Reservoir Restaurant and Hen of the Woods in Waterbury, the New England Culinary Institute and Skinny Pancake with locations in Montpelier and Burlington, Stowe Mountain Resort, Chubby Muffin in Burlington, Claire's in Hardwick and others. We also sell retail roasters, whole pig CSAs and cuts at the farm gate and delivered to individuals along our route. In the spring we sell weaner piglets for people to raise over the summer. [http://SugarMtnFarm.com/piglets] See customer letters of recommendation [http://SugarMtnFarm.com/lit] and see the back of our order form [http://sugarmtnfarm.com/SMF/SMFOrderForm.pdf] for a list of fine stores and restaurants that carry our meat.

Check out http://SugarMtnFarm.com to see our blog. In the top menu look for the sections under the Home, ButcherShop, Animals and Products menus. See the topic cloud in the right column for links into the over 1,300 articles since 2005. In the News menu you'll find a collection of stories from around the world.

Within reason. Be tasteful. It must be G-rated. We're a family farm. We have young children and they'll embarrass you if they use crude words in front of you. You're ex-spouse is fine. You're boyfriend/girlfriend is okay. But no swears, dirty words or crude language. We should probably avoid well known political leaders but movie stars are fine. If someone were to insist on a name I find offensive I have a simple solution and it involves making sausage so pick a name that will last.

The average pig lives to six months - that's market age. Breeders live for four to eight years. Our oldest breeder boar was Archimedes who was a bit over eight years old. That's the equivelant of about 80 years old in human terms. He was a gentleman, a half ton gentleman.

Hmm... Well, we won't go to Las Vegas, Rio or Spain because we already live in paradise. We won't buy a fancy car because we already have a truck - can't beat a beater like that. We won't buy fancy clothes cuz, well, we're just not into them. We don't need stuff. But seriously, we'll finish off the butcher shop and then work on the abattoir (slaughter), the smokehouse, the commercial kitchen and such so we can do charcuterie and keep raising the best darn pork we can for our customers. Life's good on Sugar Mountain.

Maybe in the future but initially we'll just be doing livestock for our farm as we get the process running smoothly. There are a lot of regulatory and insurance complexities with doing livestock for other farms. After we've been doing it for a few years we may do that but first we must finish construction. Baby steps.

There will be four people initially plus a fifth, the government inspector who is employed to oversee our butcher shop. I anticipate hiring a sixth within a few years as we add smoking, charcuterie and other livestock.

Definitely! You can even divide up a year's subscription between multiple recipients and yourself. We can provide you with Sugar Mountain Farm gift cards to give out to the recipients and then ship directly to them if you like. See Update #18 for details.

Sure thing! If you order one of the $100 or higher packages of meat I can pack a little bit more meat or a small tusk into the box instead of a Goodie. When we send out the survey just indicate that you would like this. The bigger the package the more extra we can do instead of more extra Goodies and still ship it at the same cost.

Yes. We'll work with your needs and ship when you're ready. If you would like to receive your eight packages in a one year subscription over the course of two, three or more years that is fine. We'll always check with your before shipping as we want to be sure you are home to receive your package and enjoy the delicious pork.

Definitely. Several people have done this. Select the meat package you would like to get and then when you pledge add the cost of the videos or books you would like to also get. When we send out the survey there will be a place for you to indicate what you would like to receive with your extra pledge money.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $15 or more
About $15

Postcard in the mail of one of the above all natural porcine models! Oo-la-la in the mail! Hang it on your bulletin board, fridge or office wall! Everyone at this level and above gets the postcard in the mail reward too!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $30 or more
About $30

iKickstarted SugarMtnFarm Embroidered Pig Patch plus one FarmImages Goodies. This commemorative patch only available to backers. See Update #44 for image. You can also add one or more patches to any shipping package ($25 and above) for $5 per patch shipping with package.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $41 or more
About $41

Video: Master Butcher Cole Ward 2 DVD Set of instructional videos on meat cutting for Pork, Lamb & Beef. This is the master butcher with whom our family apprenticed with for 18 months to learn the art of meat cutting. He is a top butcher and extraordinary teacher. Add this set to any package for this price and just let us know you would like it.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $42 or more
About $42

Video: Sugar Mountain Farm DVD Autographed 2 hour tour of the Butcher Shop and Sugar Mountain Farm covering all the seasons of the year. Add this set to any package for this price and just let us know you would like it.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $44 or more
About $44

iKickstarted SugarMtnFarm T-shirt one sided with Big Pig and Piglets plus FarmImages Goodies. See Update #44 for image. This commemorative T-shirt only available to backers. You can also add one or more T-shirts to any $40 and above package for $20 per shirt shipping with package.

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Pledge $59 or more
About $59

Farmer's Basket Mini Sampler: 3 pounds of the farmer's pick of our delicious pastured pork and sausages shipped to you. Includes your pick of one item from the FarmImages or an extra package of sausage at your choice. $75 value!

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Pledge $69 or more
About $69

Farmer's Basket Mini & Bacon Sampler: 3 pounds of the farmer's pick of our delicious pastured pork, sausages and bacon shipped to you. Includes your pick of one item from the FarmImages or an extra package of sausage at your choice. $87 value!

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Pledge $75 or more
About $75

Goodie Combo Pack: Your choice of one Goodie item from each of the FarmImages, FarmStuff and CoolPigStuff levels. Want a T-shirt, Art Print and Knuckle dice? They're yours! Three great goodies in one package! $109 value!

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Pledge $190 or more
About $190

Oodles of Oddments Supreme: 20 pounds of delicious oddments off the pig. Ever wonder what the farmer eats? For our table we often have stewed trotters, hocks, pig tails, head soup, head cheese and other delectible bits that are not the top sellers. Every bit of the pig is delicious. Be an adventurous chef and cook nose-to-tail. Includes 1 Goodies Combo Pack. $310 value!

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Pledge $437 or more
About $437

Quarter Pig with Sausage & Bacon. 35 lbs. This is a representative quarter pig of pork which includes some high on the hog cuts, some middle cuts and some some low-on-the-hog cuts. To save on shipping it does not include oddments such as head, trotters or the like unless you request them. Includes sausage and smoking options so you can get bacon, ham and hot dogs if you wish. Save when you buy in bulk with this value package of our pastured pork!: 35 pounds. Includes 2 Goodies Combo Packs. $546 value!

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Pledge $455 or more
About $455

MegaCoolPigStuff: Big Tusk - Genuine ivory tusk from our all natural pasture raised pigs. Very Limited Editions - see photo at left. Each is a one of a kind. See how we'll determine who gets first and second pick, etc in the discussion at left. Includes 1 Goodies Combo Pack. $510 value!

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Pledge $545 or more
About $545

MegaCoolPigStuff: Big Tusk and Meat - Genuine ivory tusk from our all natural pasture raised pigs PLUS a Pick of the Pig sampler of meat. Very Limited Editions - see photo at left! Each is a one of a kind. See how we'll determine who gets first and second pick, etc in the discussion. Includes 1 Goodies Combo Pack. $609 value!

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Pledge $562 or more
About $562

MegaCoolPigStuff: Big Tusk Pick of the Pig Pick of the Pig & Bacon - Genuine ivory tusk from our all natural pasture raised pigs PLUS a Pick of the Pig sampler of meat. Very Limited Editions - see photo at left! Each is a one of a kind. See how we'll determine who gets first and second pick, etc in the discussion. Includes 1 Goodies Combo Pack. $621 value!

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Pledge $696 or more
About $696

Half Pig with Sausage & Bacon. 70 lb in two shipments. Each box is a representative quarter pig of pork which includes some high on the hog cuts, some middle cuts and some some low-on-the-hog cuts. To save on shipping it does not include oddments such as head, trotters or the like unless you request them. Includes sausage and smoking options so you can get bacon, ham and hot dogs if you wish. Save when you buy in bulk with this value package of our pastured pork!: 2 shipments of 35 lbs each for a total of 70 pounds. Includes 2 Goodies Combo Packs. $848 value!

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Pledge $995 or more
About $995

Whole Pig with Sausage & Bacon. 140 lbs in four shipments. Each box is a representative quarter pig of pork which includes some high on the hog cuts, some middle cuts and some some low-on-the-hog cuts. To save on shipping it does not include oddments such as head, trotters or the like unless you request them. Includes sausage and smoking options so you can get bacon, ham and hot dogs if you wish. Save when you buy in bulk with this value package of our pastured pork!: 4 shipments of 35 lbs each for a total of 140 pounds. Includes 2 Goodies Combo Packs. $1,463 value!

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Pledge $5,400 or more
About $5,400

Decade of Sausage Sampler & Bacon: 80 shipments of 5 lbs each for a total of 400 pounds of delicious pastured pork plus you get to name a piglet and get an Art Print of it on pasture. All Decade subscriptions automatically get their choice of sausages, hot dogs and smoked products such as bacon, ham, etc included in the price. Includes 5 Goodies Combo Packs. $5,885 value!

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Pledge $8,099 or more
About $8,099

Decade of Pick of the Pig & Bacon Sampler: 80 shipments of 5 lbs each for a total of 400 pounds of delicious pastured pork plus you get to name an upcoming breeder gilt and get an Art Print of her on pasture. All Decade subscriptions automatically get their choice of sausages, hot dogs and smoked products such as bacon, ham, etc included in the price. Includes 5 Goodies Combo Packs. $8,525 value!

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Pledge $9,990 or more
About $9,990

Patron - Decade of Pick of the Pig & Bacon Supreme: 30 shipments of 20 lbs each for a total of 600 pounds of our delicious pastured pork. You also get to name a breeder boar and get an Art Print of him on pasture and you get to name one of the rooms in our butcher shop. (Earliest Patron Supreme gets first pick, etc) Your name will be engraved in Vermont granite over a door to the room you choose as a lasting memory of your help in making the Sugar Mountain on-farm butcher shop a reality. Patrons also get bonus samplings of new products as we develop them over the next decade and free upgrade to smoked products like bacon as desired when available. Patrons Supreme can receive meat from the first pig to go through our butcher shop under the necessary inspection - e.g., Vermont for instate and USDA for out of state. Includes 10 Goodies Combo Packs. $13,058 value!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $9,995 or more
About $9,995

Patron - Decade of Half Pig: Two Quarter Pigs a Year with Sausage & Bacon: 20 shipments of 35 lbs each for a total of 700 pounds of our delicious pastured pork. You also get to name a breeder boar and get an Art Print of him on pasture and you get to name one of the rooms in our butcher shop. (Earliest Patron Supreme gets first pick, etc) Your name will be engraved in Vermont granite over a door to the room you choose as a lasting memory of your help in making the Sugar Mountain on-farm butcher shop a reality. Patrons also get bonus samplings of new products as we develop them over the next decade and free upgrade to smoked products like bacon as desired when available. Patrons can receive meat from the first pig to go through our butcher shop under the necessary inspection - e.g., Vermont for instate and USDA for out of state. Includes 10 Goodies Combo Packs. $15,053 value!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $10,000
About $10,000

Patron - Decade of Local Whole Pig: Four Quarter Pigs a Year with Sausage & Bacon Local pickup & delivery only: 40 boxes of 35 lbs each for a total of 1,400 pounds of our delicious pastured pork. Since this is a local only reward level we save on shipping and you can get a super extra value. You also get to name a breeder boar and get an Art Print of him on pasture and you get to name one of the rooms in our butcher shop. (Earliest Patron Supreme gets first pick, etc) Your name will be engraved in Vermont granite over a door to the room you choose as a lasting memory of your help in making the Sugar Mountain on-farm butcher shop a reality. Patrons also get bonus samplings of new products as we develop them over the next decade and free upgrade to smoked products like bacon as desired when available. Patrons Supreme can receive meat from the first pig to go through our butcher shop under the necessary inspection. Includes 10 Goodies Combo Packs. $22,598 value!